11/05/2009 @ 6:00PM

Top Tips: 15 Ways To Grow (Even In This Economy)

Getting From $500,000 to $1 Million in Revenue

Pay yourself as little as possible.

At this stage, capital is better put back into the business than into your pocket, says Gary Vaynerchuk, author of Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion. Vaynerchuk took that lesson to heart. Between 1998 and 2000, his retail wine business, WineLibrary.com, grew eightfold to $25 million. His annual salary during that period: $27,000. “We made a massive commitment to growth,” he says. “We wanted that money to hire new employees–most of whom we were paying more than ourselves.”